[OSList] Once again: Blending OST with Training - an absolute NO NO?

Michael Herman michael at michaelherman.com
Fri Apr 29 07:43:03 PDT 2011


thinking back on the trainings i've attended, hosted, designed, and led, the
single most important criteria is not what we as 'trainers' or 'teachers'
bring.  rather, just like in any other open space (cuz what we're really
doing is just opening a space for learning and exploration of open space
itself), so just like any other open space, the thing that matters is the
complexity, diversity, urgency and passion that comes in with the
participants.

to increase or at least encourage these things, i used to ask early and
often for them to bring real situations to work on and wrestle with.  then
during the sessions, it seems important to keep looking for those
situations... not only where "ost" might be used in a meeting, but where
each participant may have encountered open space somewhere else in their
lives.  open space is.  and we find ourselves casting about in it from time
to time.  how have we handled those times?  how can we understand and learn
from our responses to those moments?  when have we been able to do nothing
but "be with" one or more others in their work or even suffering?  and as we
turn these stones over, the thing we do is help folks understand that it's
all part of normal life, rather than something to be fixed, avoided or
otherwise controlled.  so we don't so much as teach open space, but suggest
that it's normal, and useful... then it's easier to deal with some of those
complex, diverse, urgent, passionate meeting situations.

for a while i led training programs with others, and soon found myself
callling them "practice workshops" and "practice retreats," inviting as
actively as possible participants to step across the line, between observing
open space and actually diving in, or noticing that it is indeed everywhere
around them.  for some years, the way i've extended this is to give up the
'program' altogether and work one-on-one with people who want to learn the
practice.  that's what i ended up doing inside the 'program' anyway.  my one
requirement in the one-on-one work is that people bring one or more real
situations, so that i can point out the many options and they can make real
choices between those options.  i think they learn the options better when
they examine them all in the face of choosing one.  so next time, they will
again have all the options to consider, and perhaps choose differently
because the situation is different.  but mostly what this does is maximize
the concentration of "reality" and minimize the spectating and ungrounded
theorizing that sometimes bubbles up in training conversations.

the most important condition for learning open space would seem to be a
willingness to be in it, in work, in life.  if would-be students can make
that leap:  learning happens.


--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
312-280-7838 (mobile)

http://MichaelHerman.com
http://ManorNeighbors.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org





On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 6:02 AM, Bernd Weber <
bernd.weber at change-facilitation.org> wrote:

> Hi All
>
> Last month I posted about a new Learning Workshop Format-in-production:
> "Participants can learn (1) to play with surface waves/breakers with their
> bodies (2) use the "waves-of-change" metaphor in reflecting their
> experiences as change agents and change facilitators in the light of 1 and
> (3)equilibrate these two levels of movement by mental non-movement and
> physical slow movement according to the Stress Management Technique "Cyclic
> Meditation" as recently developed at SVYASA Yoga University Bangalore/India
> where I have learned it in January"
>
> During my design work I got the strong feeling, that I would like make the
> training/learning part as focussed and concentrated as possible and then to
> "open up" for mutual learning of the participants. It will be a
> heterogeneous crowd with a lot of experience (English and German speakers,
> experienced Change agents in Education and professional Consultants, Change
> Facilitators. So I thought, I can only "kick-them-off" in a concentrated
> training but then they better self-organize asap for action planning in the
> sense of "How could we Play with the Waves of Change Back Home". And there
> it was: the idea to do a 2,5 day Training and then a 1,5 day OST event.
>
> I reacted very ambivalent to my own idea. One one hand the result of many
> discussions in the OSLIST and my own experience show, that OST is best, when
> "stand-alone" and "not blended":
> I thought: A training up front would probably re-inforce the everyday
> "anti-self-organization" habits; the invitation procedure can not be done
> properly; it will not be a large group anyhow; Where is the burning issue
> and the urgency? etc. pp.
> On the other hand  I could not get rid of the idea. It seemed to be the
> right thing to do, since my WS methodology is also oriented towards
> self-organization and then I know: working in the OST format (even if not
> doing it in the purest way) simply is the most effective way of moving
> things ahead.
>
> I got stuck finally. Could not continue working on my WS-Design without a
> clear decision. So I decided to ask the interested ones and the potential
> participants directly by putting that question into a survey monkey
> questionnaire(you might have a look at
> http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SBPQW6C)
> I thought: If people say "we want it" why not? On the other hand: making
> nonsense because "people say they want it" is also not the finest style.
>
> So I would humbly ask you: what do you think?
>
> Bernd (in Colombo/Sri Lanka right now)
>
>
>
> Bernd Weber
>
> Change Facilitation s.r.o., A Global Partner Who Makes Change Happen in
> Complex Environments; www.change-facilitation.com,
> www.change-facilitation.org, www.change-management-toolbook.com,
> www.change-management-blog.com; bernd.weber at change-facilitation.org;
> Austria Mobile: +43 6641354828, Landline + 431 5968657; Sri Lanka landline
> +94 11 2785859, iPhone: +94 777740757, mobile +94 71 6090839
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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